MSBlast.B Worm Writer Pleads Guilty
The hapless Minneapolis teenager who unleashed the MSBlast.B
variant of the MSBlaster worm pleaded guilty to the crime yesterday in
the US District Court in Seattle. He'll be sentenced in November.
Jeffrey Lee Parson admitted that he created MSBlast.B last summer
by adding a backdoor to MSBlaster. Federal prosecutors say that the
backdoor, which gave Parson control of compromised computers, made the
worm far more dangerous than its predecessor. "Sending out a computer
worm may be viewed as a harmless prank," US Attorney John McKay said
yesterday. "But the damage to individual computer users is very real,
and the penalties are also very real."
Parson pleaded guilty to "intentionally causing damage to a
networked computer" and will likely be sentenced to 18 to 37 months in
federal prison. He could also face millions of dollars in damages.
Federal authorities arrested Parson in August 2003, about 2 weeks
after his worm infected tens of thousands of computers. He was easy to
catch because the code for his worm included a variation of his online
persona, teekids._________________RFID tags! SPYWARE
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Can't decide how I feel on this one.Usually,I wouldn't hesitate to see the hapless teen do 35 years in Sing-Sing..

He's hardly E-Crime's answer to Burke and Hare, is he?Besides which the original writer is still at large.

You can't go around setting up backdoor access on other peoples' computers-that's not in question.Punitive measures need to be enforced.I can't help thinking that the kid is being turned into a scapegoat,though.

There are far more nasty characters out there doing far worse things online-there are also far more destructive viruses,too.

The Authorities didn't have to work too hard to bust him-by their own admission.Perhaps the Law needs to be re-defined in order to deal with this type of offence.

At the end of the day,the kid has certain "talent" with computers.He doesn't appear to be a violent,deranged maniac who needs to be imprisoned for reasons of Public safety.In fact,I'm inclined to think a regular Prison would utterly destroy him-probably make him ten times worse.

Just tag him and make him do community service teaching Technologically-Challenged "noobes" how to send e-mails,install firewalls etc...Or send him on a five-year HijackThis! apprenticeship..

There are far more nasty characters out there doing far worse things online-there are also far more destructive viruses,too.

Just because they havent caught the worse characters, doesn't mean he shouldn't be in trouble...I mean, they're not STOPPING all searches for these other guys just because they caught this kid._________________You've Been Deleted
CCSP WebsiteMember of The ASAP Since 2004

Oh haha, I think my statement was the more misconstrude (my fault entirely). I was just making a statement about that one line. I fully understood the rest of it. I should have said something

You've offended nobody. Just know that in any discussion on this board EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinions. The only things we ask are that no personal attacks are put upon people. well within the guidelines of this forum